Well look who's back! So sorry for not updating an a while. What happened was while I was taking some time to plan out what I tended to do for this story, someone I knew died, it was very unexpected and a great shock to me. So after that everything became uncertain for me and I had to deal with stuff in my life so yeah. But I did finally get round to finishing this chapter. I do still love to write this story and I hope a lot of you guys are still interested. So, on with the show. Feel free to review, follow, and fav please. Sorry for any spelling mistakes I am dyslexic. Also I will try an get the next chapter out asap.
Chapter 21 I'm Only Trying to Help
"What am I missing? The TARDIS should be able to detect anything in the known universe. The known universe. This universe." The Doctor paced around the console muttering to himself.
Clara, Lauren, and Rigsy made a run for it, away from the house, putting as much distance between them and the monsters. It was at this point Clara's phone started ringing. She skidded to a stop, stopping Lauren in the process; letting go of her hand to find her phone. Clara took one look at the caller ID and wanted to scream to herself.
"Oh, no, no, no, no, no," Clara quietly muttered in despair before clicking the answer button and pressing the phone to her ear, and in an instance her face brightened into a false smile and cheer. It was almost comical if Clara's eyes didn't dart towards Lauren clearly stating 'I'll deal with you next' vibe. "Hey you," Clara said as cheerfully as she could muster. "…Just a little. Sorry, Danny. I think lunch is er, a bust."
Clara tried to get herself out of trouble with Danny and think of some excuse while Lauren and Rigsy just awkwardly stared. Clara should be thankful she wasn't swinging from a chair and smashing through a window right at this point.
"Clara we need to –" Rigsy began but Clara shushed him.
"Oh that was just a guy on community support, I'm trying to help him find his auntie," Clara said.
"Nice. Not technically lying," the Doctor commented.
"Yeah, um, sorry, Danny, there was a thing…No, no, no, really, I'm fine! I can manage, anyway I've got Lauren to help…Yeah her. Um," Clara paused, looking slightly alarmed, "Anyway got to get back, sorry, but I'll tell you later. Love you!"
Clara managed to end the phone call not as awkwardly as the original timeline but it was still extremely obvious to the Doctor she was also lying.
"Care to explain what the hell happened back there?" Clara demanded, now rounding on Lauren.
Lauren in that moment imagined various different ways the earth would open up or a black hole to randomly appear to swallow her whole, hell she might even go back to that house and face being flatten by the Boneless…OK maybe not that last one.
I'm so great at this aren't it? She thought sarcastically as Clara looked at her like a student that just failed at handing in their homework, and Rigsy just looked plain confused. And for the Doctor? Well, she couldn't see the Doctor's face but she could imagine the disapproving scowl.
"They- they were going to – well, they did," Lauren voice broken slightly at that point, "they flattened her, and took her apart – "
The Doctor, who was trying to maintain his cool demeanour at the implications of Lauren's actions cut in, having worked it out so far on his own, "the mural in the first flat. That wasn't a desert at all. It was microscopic blow up of human skin. Whatever they are, they are experimenting. They're testing. They are, they are dissecting. Trying to understand us. Trying to understand three dimensions."
The Doctor had his light bulb moment. Realizing and discovering they're from a universe with only two dimensions.
Try a dimension where you are in a TV show Doctor…
"And Lauren, when are you going to drop your whole façade and actually admit the truth? I'm getting rather tired of it," the Doctor remarked, fed up of all the lying recently, with both of his companions it seems. "And Clara, what long story are you going to tell Danny, huh? Or haven't you made it up yet?"
Clara looked taken back. "Sorry what?"
"Excellent lying Doctor Oswald, Lauren you should take notes," he said gruffly.
"Yeah? Well, thought it was pretty weak myself," Clara muttered as the three of them walked back to the subway. Lauren, Clara, and Rigsy now more sullen than before.
"I meant to me. You told me that Danny was okay with you being back on board the TARDIS."
"Well, he is."
The Doctor scoffed, "Yeah, because he doesn't know anything about it."
"Doctor, I think you should be more worried about what Lauren hides more than what I choose not to tell Danny," Clara argued, finding it unfair of the Doctor to have a go at her for lying to her boyfriend when their friend is hiding foreknowledge that could change time.
"I'll be the judge of that," the Doctor stated, "Anyway, I never said I was finished with either of you two. Congratulations though, lying is a vital survival skill."
"Well there you go," mumbled Clara.
"And a terrible habit." He added.
"But you knew what would happen though," Clara rounded on Lauren again. "You knew that police officer would die and you tried to save her."
"Please Clara, you were always the understanding one here," Lauren pleaded.
"But you knew specifically that she would die. I mean, how does it work? Do you get premonitions like a sudden flash or vision before it happens? Precognition? You told me you don't know everything but you know somethings of our past too so…" Clara trailed off, but then confessed that she really didn't understand the boundaries of what Lauren's gift enabled her to see. "What I mean is, can you see who else those creatures are going to kill by looking at them?"
"Clara," the Doctor spoke, sounding tense, he was not liking where this conversation was heading.
"It's complicated," Lauren could all but say, then added feebly, "We talked about this."
"We also talked about you opening up more about your foresight thingy. This is serious. This is what we could use it for! I mean if we could have saved her, I hardly think the universe would have imploded if we did."
"No!" The Doctor practically screeched through their earpieces causing both Lauren and Clara to wince. "Don't try anything funny next time Lauren. I mean it." The Doctor warned, and Lauren knew by his tone he definitely meant it.
"But Doctor," Clara tried to argue, "we could save more lives with Lauren's help. I mean that's what we do isn't it? We help, defeat the bad guys and save a few insignificant people."
"Insignificant people?"
Clara sighed, "You know what I mean Doctor."
"I know when I can, I know when I can't," the Doctor tapped his head for emphasis as he paced around the console even though he knew they couldn't see him do it. "First rule of being me, Clara, The Doctor," he said, punctuating his title, "you can't say everything you know, even if you want to, otherwise you risk destroying timelines, and breaking many more hearts. We're part of events now and we're also talking our own timelines, once we know what's is going to happen, it's fixed."
"So I'm damned if I don't say anything and I'm damned if I do say anything," Lauren muttered.
They made it back to the underpass where the rest of the community workers were setting up to paint over the mural.
"Hey!" Rigsy shouts, "They can't do that. Hey! What are you doing?" He ran ahead to confront the old man Fenton.
"Oh," the Doctor breathed in realization as he saw the mural on the scanner again through the girls' eye views. "Clara! Clara, the mural! We've found the missing people, they're in the walls!"
"What do I do?" She asked, side glancing at Lauren to see if she was going to be helpful here.
"Act normal but get everyone out," he instructed.
Clara started conversation, trying to hint to Rigsy the danger they were in. Lauren slowly drifted to the side, trying to find the guy with the name badge Stan; she was almost positive it was the guy named Stan that dies here. To hell with the Doctor she thought, she failed at saving PC Forrest, now she had a chance to save this guy. Saving him wasn't going to destroy the timeline. Clara pulled out the psychic paper at Fenton, but with his lack of imagination it didn't work.
"Stan. Do you job," Fenton ordered.
"Clara, stop him!" The Doctor said just as Stan made a move with his brush. However before Clara could reach, Lauren had already pulled him back and practically near man handled him to the ground in her state; body pumping with adrenaline and eagerness to save a life once again. She grabbed the brush off him and threw it, hitting the wall. The moment the brush struck the wall it immediately became flattened and the images of the dead people turned around to face them, knowing they were uncovered.
The rest of the men started panicking. "What is this? What are they?" One man asked.
"They're wearing the dead like camouflage. Clara, get them out of there!"
"OK everyone move. Now," Lauren yelled, pulling Stan for good measure before they all started running away as the Boneless buzzed and slide off the wall, giving chase to them. They ran into a nearby train shed, Clara secured the corrugated iron door behind them with the sonic, even though she knew it couldn't keep the Boneless out forever, but hopefully it would by a little time to regroup.
"OK. Clara, this is a vital stage. This little group is currently confused and disorientated but pretty soon a leader is going to emerge. You need to make sure that leader is you." The Doctor instructed, Clara took his advice and started to take charge like a natural instinct of hers. She called out a man named George to watch the area.
Lauren realized with dread as Clara called to the man named George that he would die soon. Although she already knew, it only really hit her now thatshe couldn't save everyone in this adventure. In fact as she thought about it, Stan still could in a twisted act of fate, die.
Before she could dwell any further, Fenton challenged Clara's order, walking in stride with her as he spoke, "He will do no such thing until I get some answers. Who are you? That's what I want to know. Impersonating a government official. Trespassing on council property."
Clara came to a stop and turned to him, "Seriously?" She exclaimed, now fed up with this man.
"Seriously," the man replied.
"Fine, I'll tell you who I am." Clara leaned in and whispered, "I'm the one chance you've got of staying alive. That's who I am." She leaned away and gave him a pointed look, just daring him to argue back. Fenton rightfully backed off after that.
The Doctor, still facing the screen looked slightly taken back but impressed nonetheless. "Well done."
Clara ensured Rigsy knew the area well, and noted their only escape route was down that tunnel. "I just hope we can keep them all alive." She whispered.
"Yeah," Lauren breathed, noticing she said 'we' and not 'I'. Small but important difference.
"Ah, welcome to my world. So what's next, Doctor Clara?" Said the Doctor almost gleefully.
"Lie to them." Clara stated.
"What?" That answer seemed to have caught the Doctor off guard.
"Lie to them. Give them hope. Tell them they're all going to be fine. Isn't that what you would do?"
Lauren winced slightly. How very Doctor-like in her thinking Clara has become. Even if the Doctor and she weren't on the best of terms at the moment Lauren felt kind of bad for him now; to begin to realize just how much of a bad influence you have had on your companion. The guilt must hurt him.
The Doctor frowned, "In a manner of speaking. It's true that people with hope tend to run faster, whereas people who think they're doomed…"
"Dawdle. End up dead."
"So that's what I sound like?" He said.
"Well, yeah," Clara said casually.
The Doctor pondered what she said for a moment before getting back to main situation at hand. "Right, here's something that might help you. Do you remember the graffiti from the estate? Footprints, tyre treads?"
"Vaguely."
"Well, I don't think it was graffiti. I think that that is how those creatures saw us. That was them reaching out, attempting to talk," the Doctor hypothesised, then continued, "At which point they moved into flattening and dissection. Trying to understand. Trying to emulate. But here's the big question. Do they know they're hurting us?"
Clara glanced at Lauren, "So what? You think this is all one big misunderstanding?"
"I don't think so," Lauren said, but immediately regretted speaking up after the Doctor's warning.
"I don't want to hear a word from you until this is over," the Doctor growled, clearly still angry over Lauren's previous actions. The Doctor couldn't be sure of anything she says from now on.
"I'm only trying to help," Lauren said, visibly hurt.
"You can help me by not talking and not pulling another stunt."
That stung, that really did. Lauren glared at the miniature TARDIS stuffed away in Clara's handbag that hid the Doctor, wanting in that moment to grab it and throw it across the room. Even Clara looked shocked and opened her mouth to call him out but the Doctor continued on as if Lauren never interrupted in the first place.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Clara ended up to go along with the Doctor's request, even if she didn't fully believe that these aliens weren't aware that they were hurting people. But the Doctor was one to hope so they had to give them a chance, it was what they always did really, get a chance to talk. The scene played out as fairly normal, George kept watch out while the Doctor tried to communicate using pi and the creatures responded, except they didn't call out Stan's number because he wasn't flattened in the subway this time, instead the creatures immediately called out George's number and in a matter of seconds he was flattened. Everything then blurred together as everyone quickly made a dash into the tunnel, adrenaline peaking once more.
"Don't say I didn't try to warn you," Lauren yelled.
They made use of the flashlights to shed some light as they explored the dark tunnel. The tunnel was big, echoed their voices, creating a feeling of being over exposed; and had an air of dampness to it. They came across a handle of a steel door that was flattened, the creatures were blocking their exits. The Doctor was already working on a device to restore it but his little gizmo, that he wanted to name the 'Two-D-is', pronounced similar to the word TARDIS, according to the Doctor, didn't work in restoring the handle to the door much to Clara's dismay. "Long way round it is." She sighed. Then, an alarm from the TARDIS sounds, the Doctor looked around frantically as the creatures leeched more power from the ship. They were close.
Lauren was the one to spot it first, a shadow forming against the light coming down the far end of the tunnel. "Um, guys," Lauren gulped, she grabbed Clara and Rigsy's hands and pulled them backwards as a giant hand was beginning to form, knowing that it was going to grab whoever was closest. Clara, Rigsy, Fenton, Stan and the other guy whose name badge said his name was Al, didn't fully register what was happening until the giant hand of the Boneless rushed down towards them at lighting speed and a sudden scream was heard. The hand grabbed Al, lifting him up into the air and pulling him back from whence it came.
"Of course. The next stage. 3D." Said the Doctor as if it should have been obvious to him, just as several shapes seemed to be emerging from the ground.
The distorted shapes grew, rather clumsily, raising higher, accompanied with that infernal buzzing, and began taking and resolving themselves into the shapes of people. The forms of PC Forrest, Al and George and others. All that was left of their small group ran back the way they came, though luckily this time, having boosted the output, the Doctor's little device worked in restoring the handle to three dimensional in a puff of brilliant green smoke. Once they were through the door Clara used the device to flatten the handle again. She waited with baited breath hoping the creatures couldn't get through. Unfortunately, red energy appeared and sparked around the handle, the creatures on the other side who now could pump the energy as fast as they could take it, and restored it. They made another run from it.
"Clara, do you want the good news or the bad news?" the Doctor said, Clara and Lauren started to feel really out of breath now.
"We're in the bad news!" Clara cried, her lungs and feet started to ache. "I'm living the bad news!"
"The good news is I've come up with a theoretical way to send them back to their own dimension." The Doctor was decidedly more composed than Clara, although he hasn't been running nearly the whole time.
"Do it! Now!"
"And that's the bad news. The TARDIS doesn't have enough dimensional energy to pull it off."
"Great. What do you want me to do about it? Got any good insight here Lauren?" Clara called to the other girl.
"A little bit yeah," Lauren gave a crooked smile, slightly giddy at this point. She slowed down and so did Clara. God the running was exhausting.
The Doctor cut in, "Apparently these things can pump it out as fast as they can steal it."
Clara stopped for a second to catch her breath, "Maybe if we get Lauren to ask them really nicely, they'll fill you up again. She should know what to - Hey!" Clara cried out as Fenton reached into her bag and pulled the TARDIS out as he tried to get the 'Two-D-is' device off Clara.
"Give me that machine! Hand it over!" He said. Rigsy came over to intervene with Fenton but in their struggle the miniature TARDIS went flying over the railing and down a shaft.
Lauren leaned over the railing and whistled, that was a fair way down.
"Doctor?" Clara called in alarm. There was a distinctive thud as it hit the ground below. "Hello? Doctor? Look, can we please deal with this later? Because we need to move."
Rigsy and Fenton were glaring daggers at each other. "She's right, ladies, let's keep moving," Lauren called to them. "Come on Stan," she added, noticing he seemed to also be struggling for his breath, but at least he wasn't causing trouble. Probably in shock at all this.
Clara pressed a finger to her earpiece, static in the connection, "Doctor? Doctor, I dropped you down a hole. Where are you?" She glanced at the other girl for reassurance. Lauren would help if things got serious, Clara thought.
"I don't know. My shields have gone. Structural integrity is failing. Another blow like that and I've had it." The girls listened as they heard him check through the doors, and the sound of a train could be heard. "Er, I'm on the train lines. And there's a train coming. Of course there is. Short-term re-materialisation? Not enough power. Teleport? Not enough power. Re-route the heart of the TARDIS through - not enough power! Not enough power!"
"Can't you move the TARDIS?" Clara said.
"Clara, there is no power. The TARDIS couldn't boil an egg at the moment. Listen, do what you can to get those people out of there –"
"No, Doctor," Lauren finally decided to speak up, "She means move the TARDIS with your hand like Addams Family."
"OK, I was just thinking that," Clara said, looking at Lauren warily, "Your little insight is kinda creepy."
The Doctor didn't protest this time and took her advice, sticking his hand through the doors and managing to turn the small box into an upright position, then used his fingers to crawl along and move off the track. But of course the Doctor celebrated too early and just as he started doing his cringe worthy victory dance, a vibration caused by the oncoming train knocked the TARDIS over, hitting the rail. The Doctor looked out in horror before just having enough time to dive underneath the console and pull a leaver.
The next thing Lauren and Clara heard was static in their ear buds. Clara looked at the other girl worryingly. "Doctor? Doctor? He's a, he's okay isn't he? He's going to be okay, please tell me that," Clara said, chewing her bottom lip.
Lauren frowned, briefly debating with herself. She made a facial expression like she was visioning it, although she was actually thinking back to the time she watched this episode last. "Yes." She said simply.
Clara sighed in relief before they made their way down a ladder to the track. However, the Boneless appeared again, shadowy forms illuminated against the light at the end of the tunnel, blocking their exit. To make it worse, on the other end, a train was coming. Clara however remained calm and used the sonic to make the driver pull the brakes and stop the train. The driver got and they quickly caught him up to speed at what was happening.
"Can we ram the blockage? The train's empty, isn't it?" Clara inquired.
Lauren made a dash towards Rigsy when he tried to sneakily board the train. "Wow, wow hold on there, Rigsy," She pulled him back by the collar, drawing Clara's attention towards them. "Don't be an idiot. You don't need to ram it and sacrifice yourself, Clara can just use her hair band."
Rigsy looked at the girl really confused, "Oh." He uttered.
Clara in hearing this, wasted no time and got on the train, used her hair band to loop around the handle and keep it in position, and quickly jumped off just before it hit the Boneless and the whole train flattened. Lauren couldn't really admire the visually spectator stuff that was happening when there was a constant danger lurking.
"You OK?" Lauren asked, giving Clara a hand up.
"Yeah, though I quite liked that hair band," she joked.
Figures started rising again out of the tunnel floor, Clara let out a frustrated groaned, and Lauren suddenly remembered, "The TARDIS!" She exclaimed, frantically searching the track for a small silver box. It only took a few seconds to spot it lying by the rails, it was rather distinctive with its Gallifreyan symbols.
Clara came over, peering at it curiously over Lauren's shoulder, "Is that really the TARDIS?"
"Yes, with the Doctor inside, but he can't communicate for now," Lauren explained, knowing the life support won't last him long. Clara raised an eyebrow, noticing how less the girl was holding back on little bits of foresight, it was a small but good improvement, Clara thought, although with the Doctor currently out of the picture for the time being, that probably played a factor in it, she mused.
"Time to run again," Lauren said, her legs protesting, "Always the running." They all made a dash down the tunnel, trying to get as far away from the ever relentless creatures.
The group found themselves in a small, abandoned office to hide in. The office was cluttered, there sat a long table in the middle, rows of old filing cabinets, a random typewriter on a desk, and heaps of files, disused objects, and handy enough, some spray cans.
"They wear your skin?" Bill, the train driver asked, still getting to grips with everything.
"Flatten you to a pancake." Stan remarked.
"I never thought I'd say this," Fenton began.
"This is insane." Bill said, shaking his head in disbelief.
"But I think preferred them when they were flat." Fenton continued.
Bill turned to him, "What do you mean flat?"
Clara stood away from everyone else in the room and Lauren watched her silently as she held the silver box she had asked to inspect, close to her face. Clara was still hoping the Doctor would be able to get back into communication quicker despite Lauren saying it will take some time. Time however, was something they were running out of.
"Doctor?" Clara called softly. No response. She tried again. "Doctor?" Same result. "What would you do now?" She whispered to herself, then frowned. "No. What will I do now?" She shouldn't have to rely on the Doctor. She wasn't helpless and just for today, she was the Doctor. And with that in mind Clara turned around and addressed the room "Okay, okay, okay. Okay, the last thing the Doctor said was that the TARDIS needed energy. He said if it gets energy, he can beat them."
Lauren grabbed a spray can and shook it, it made that familiar clinking sound. The sound drew everyone's attention. Lauren gave Clara a look, shaking the can at her for emphasis, the woman's face split into a smile, an idea forming in her head.
"I think you just gave me an idea," Clara said, grinning, taking the spray can from her.
"The idea is all yours," Lauren replied, as Clara unrolled an old poster and laid it on the table blank side up, using the little silver box as a paperweight.
"Come on, Graffiti Boy, I've got a commission for you." Clara said, throwing the spray can to Rigsy.
When Rigsy finished spray painting a realistic enough looking door, they set the plan in motion. They stuck the poster to the door and Lauren placed the silver box that was the TARDIS on the other side on a metal ledge so it was level with the handle. All they had to do now was wait for the Boneless to fall for the trick.
"They're coming," Bill called and everyone quickly scampered into their hiding place. In was then while they nervously waited for the Boneless to reach the door, Clara and Lauren's earpieces buzzed, and static filling them, a distorted voice call through.
"Life support failing." The Doctor said weakly. His breathing sounding more elaborate. "I don't know if you'll ever hear this, Clara and Lauren. I don't even know if you're still alive out there. You should be, you both should be. I, ah, and I…just wanted to say, I'm sorry Lauren, I know you meant well…But yous were good! And Clara, you made a mighty fine Doctor."
The Boneless were pouring more and more energy into the wall, and on the other side, the TARDIS was starting to power up again. The silver box started shaking, leeching up every raw bit of energy. Inside the console begins to light up, the Doctor leapt to the controls and finally in a dramatic moment, the little silver cube flew off the metal ledge and restored itself to its small TARDIS shape. The small blue box flew out and down the tunnel past the creatures, its familiar groaning sound filled the air, the TARDIS growing bigger and bigger until it landed full sized with a thump right before the creatures themselves, its force and the energy pulsing from within the wood itself pushed them away, creating a glowing green force field, keeping the monsters at bay.
Clara grinned from ear to ear, "It worked. They charged the TARDIS."
"That was totally awesome!" Lauren cheered, feeling goose bumps on her arms.
"I tried to talk. I want you to remember that. I tried to reach out, I tried to understand you, but I think that you understand us perfectly." The Doctor's voice could be heard over the tannoy system. "And I think you just don't care. And I don't know whether you are here to invade, infiltrate or just replace us. I don't suppose it really matters now. You are monsters. That is the role you seem determined to play. So it seems I must play mine." The Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS, the fury of the last of the Time Lords. "The man that stops the monsters."
Lauren, Clara, Rigsy and the rest of the group made their way down the ladder to the Doctor.
"I'm sending you back to your own dimension. Who knows? Some of you may even survive the trip. And, if you do, remember this. You are not welcome here. This plane is protected. I am the Doctor." He turned, extending a hand out, and Clara naturally throws him his sonic screwdriver, "And I name you The Boneless." He waves the sonic and zaps the force field, the pulsing green energy blasts the Boneless, disintegrating them on the spot with a high pitched squeal.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The TARDIS materialised back at the waste ground, they first found themselves at the beginning. The group exit the box. Bill getting down on his knees and kissing the ground to Clara's amusement. Rigsy immediately made a phone call to his mum. Lauren felt her heart clench, sad and envious and wishing that she had the luxury to do the same in this instance. It's been a long, tiring day, but she couldn't call home.
Bill and Stan said their goodbyes, Lauren shook Stan's hand and told him to have a nice quiet life, and the Doctor stood a slight bit away from everyone else, brooding.
"Do people still say chipper?" Clara said casually, seemingly rather content with herself.
"Apparently. Are you okay?" The Doctor said quietly to her, eyes assessing over both girls when Lauren, now rather shy again, approached.
"I'm alive." Said Clara.
"And a lot of people died." He gazed briefly at Lauren, "I'd imagine more would of."
Then Fenton had to annoying join the conversation, "It's like a forest fire, though, isn't it? The objective is to save the great trees, not the brushwood. Am I right?"
"It wasn't a fire, those weren't trees, those were people."
"They were Community Payback scumbags, I wouldn't lose any sleep."
"I bet you wouldn't." The Doctor whispered, keeping his outrage low.
"It's good to be alive though. Thank you. Seriously, thank you." And with that, Fenton walked away.
Lauren glared at his retreating back, Good fucking riddance
"Yes, a lot of people died and maybe the wrong people survived." The Doctor commented, not as emotionally detached from this current situation as he liked.
"Yeah, but we saved the world, right?" Clara said, trying to see this in a positive light.
"We did. You both did."
"Okay, so, on balance," Clara reasoned.
"Balance?" He said the word calmly, softy questioning, but inside he felt conflicted. What have I done? He thought as he gazed at Clara.
"Yeah, that's how you think, isn't it?"
The Doctor paused as he processed her words and feeling his self-hatred grow, "Largely so other people don't have to."
"Yeah, well, I was you today. I was the Doctor. And, apparently, I was quite good at it."
"You heard that, did you?"
"Yeah, but the power was going off so I suppose you were delirious. You didn't know what you were saying." Clara said, giving him a way to wriggle out and he took it.
"Yes." He replied.
Rigsy finished is phone call and returned to say a good bye to them properly. Rigsy shook the Doctor's hand and the girls gave him a hug.
"It was nice meeting you," Lauren called, and he began to walk home, Rigsy smiled and waved before leaving.
"Admit it. I did well." Clara said, laughing lightly, not wanting to let this go until he admitted it. She even pulled Lauren to her side and proudly stated, "We did well." Then her phone started ringing again. But she ignores the call.
Clara followed him as he walked back to the TARDIS, pestering him, "Just say it. Why can't you just say it? Why can't you just say I did good?"
"Clara, I think you should just drop it," Lauren advised.
"Talk to soldier boy."
Clara became slightly frustrated, "It's not him. Come on, why can't you say it? I was the Doctor and I was good." She demanded.
The Doctor paused by the doors, and finally turned and looked her directly in the eyes, "You were an exceptional Doctor, Clara."
"Thank you." Clara said basking in the compliment.
Then his gaze turned hard and his voice took a gruffer tone, "Goodness had nothing to do with it."
Clara stood there, no longer smiling, suddenly confused, her enjoyment fading. The Doctor looked once more at her and then to Lauren, "I need a word with you," he told her and walked through the door.
Lauren and Clara stood there, looking at each other but not quite knowing what to say to one another in that moment.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Far away, a mysterious lady in Edwardian style clothes was monitoring the event from her tablet. She watched the live feed showing Clara and Lauren, chuckling to herself, as Clara opened the door and walked inside. "Clara. My Clara. I have chosen well," Missy spoke, letting out a small giggle. She observed as Lauren was also about to step inside until the newbie girl seemingly froze, hand on the handle.
Missy sat up straighter and watched the screen with great interest as the girl, Lauren, she knew her name was, looked around fearfully as if she knew she was suddenly being watched. The image of Lauren turned to face front on the screen and stared straight out ahead, well, as best the girl could stare without being able to make direct eye contact. Missy stared right back at her, knowing the girl knew she was watching.
"I see you," she whispered. The image of Lauren quickly went inside as the Doctor's impatience voice was heard calling her in otherwise he threatened to take off without her. "Oh I know dear, he can be very mean sometimes. He's a tough cookie, but I'm sure you'll crack him," She cooed. This was going more interestingly than she thought. The girl also works very well with Clara. Lauren could prove very useful indeed. Missy turned off the tablet, silently contemplating to herself before she starting laughing, her crazed laugher filled the room.